Brett Hargreaves has confirmed his commitment to the club and signed on as the senior coach.

Ben Martin will remain senior assistant coach for the 2021 season.

"We've really got some unfinished business," Hargreaves said.

"What we started in 2020 was really positive and we really want to keep that momentum going moving forward.

"It really wasn't a big decision in the end."

With a year off football, Martin said the decision to recommit as assistant coach wasn't hinged on his age and how many seasons of football he had left to play.

"My decision came from being there to help Brett with his coaching and guiding him through his coaching journey," he said.

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"I spoke with him and confirmed he was still interested in staying on which ultimately led me to my decision."

Hargreaves said the lure of Martin's experience on the football field would be a boost for the club.

"We would love to have him down at full-forward kicking goals for us as well next season," he said.

"Obviously being a new senior football coach to have someone like Ben and his football experience next to me is going be a huge benefit."

Hargreaves said while the coaching roles were announced earlier than past seasons, things have changed due to the social distancing restrictions and requirements placed on senior football competitions.

"It's like the silly season has come early," he said.

"You need coaches sorted early and people need to know who they are so plans can start to be made.

"We've still got people training with us at the moment and working towards next year."

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Martin said it would be tough to keep people motivated but he has seen some positive signs around the club leading into next year.

"We've spoken to the players and told them what we think is required," he said.

"At this stage, it's nothing serious. It's just about getting together and having a kick and building on that culture of what Brett had started late last year."

Hargreaves said he was realistic when he looked at the playing list that not everyone would return to the sport.

"It's going to be a challenge for everyone across the board, no matter what sport it is," he said.

"When you have 40-50 players on your list you know there will be a few that won't return.

"We are still getting really solid numbers turning up to training. Even those ones who aren't have indicated that they are still interested, it's just not for them right now due to work or family commitments."

Hargreaves said he believed with a year of no football and netball seasons many people would realise what sporting clubs mean to communities.

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"When players returned after training was cancelled you couldn't wipe the smiles off their faces and were so happy to stand around and have a general conversation," he said.

"We have a relatively young list and we wanted to keep developing those players and working on their skills.

"We have continued to train because it would be a shame for those players to miss out a whole block in their football development through this time."

With the new clubrooms projected to be finished in December of this year, Martin said he was looking forward to starting the new year with new facilities.

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"I came to Swifts in 2013. I just can't believe for how long we've managed in the old building," he said.

"It's much more accommodating and allows us as a club to build on our culture and have everyone involved. The old clubrooms didn't allow for that at all."

Swifts senior footballers will continue to train on Tuesday and Thursday nights starting at 6pm.

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